Punjab Budget
Cycles for poor girl students Chandigarh, March 14
The SAD-BJP government, which has already made development its main poll agenda like that of Bihar, is now also set to woo the electorate with similar sops like free bicycles for girl students besides covering a larger number of economically weaker sections of the population under various welfare schemes.

For industry, Rs 10 cr only
Chandigarh, March 14
Private entrepreneurship has always been the driving force behind Punjab’s economic growth. This factor appears to have somehow been so deeply engrained in the minds of the state’s policy makers, that this sector is almost dismissed in the budget proposals of successive governments.

Agri-marketing area neglected
Chandigarh, March 14
The SAD-BJP government is fond of terming Punjab as a state where agriculture is king. But this was not reflected in the state Budget presented today, as it failed to address the key issues of marketing, storage and the processing of agriculture produce besides that of crop diversification and cold chains. It, however, did allocate money to encourage small farmers to go in for dairy and aqua culture.

Reactions
‘Funds for farm sector upgrade insufficient’
Ludhiana:
Agriculture and allied sectors got Rs 453 crore in today’s Budget, which agricultural economists feel is less and will not help in solving the problem of sustainability of agriculture. Dr MS Toor, senior Professor of (Agriculture) Economics, Punjab Agricultural University, said in the present scenarios of global warming, water depletion and increasing population, there was a need to bring in structural changes in agriculture. The allocated amount would be sufficient just for maintenance purpose and the revamping of agriculture could not be done with this limited amount, he said.

We’re out of the dark tunnel: CM
The Punjab Chief Minister and leader of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Parkash Singh Badal, has described the Punjab Budget as a document that exhibits a new hope and vision for the state. Reacting to the Budget soon after Finance Minister Dr Upinderjit Kaur concluded her speech, the Chief Minister told The Tribune, “We have achieved something that appeared impossible a few years ago”.

Sukhbir factor flummoxes Oppn
Chandigarh, March 14
The opposition Congress today condemned the Punjab Budget even calling it a non-Budget but there are already concerns that Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has stolen a march over his rivals by engineering a populist Budget which hits hard at the core constituency of the Congress --- the Scheduled Caste and Backward Class vote bank.

Budget touches majority of voters
Chandigarh, March 14
The Budget is not merely a pre-election exercise, but it can be viewed as a positive step to enlarge the scope to attract voters. Almost every section of society has been benefited in one way or the other.

3-fold hike in Sainik welfare Budget
Non-plan expenses up 11 pc
Chandigarh, March 14
Though no new welfare schemes have been announced, a three-fold increase in the planned expenditure by the Department of Defence Services Welfare has been proposed in the state Budget for 2011-12, while the department’s non-planned Budget is earmarked to rise by about 11 per cent.

Budget evokes mixed response
Ferozepur, March 14
The Punjab Budget presented by state Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha today evoked a mixed response from the people belonging to different walks of life.

DOUBLE MURDER CASE
Dubai court gives death to Indian
Eleven of his accomplices get life term
Chandigarh/Dubai, March 14
After three adjournments, a Dubai court today sentenced 12 Indians in a double murder case, giving death sentence to one and life term to the remaining 11. The only Pakistani convicted in the case also gets life term.

Chandigarh, March 14
The SAD-BJP government, which has already made development its main poll agenda like that of Bihar, is now also set to woo the electorate with similar sops like free bicycles for girl students besides covering a larger number of economically weaker sections of the population under various welfare schemes.

After taking into account the farming community with continuation of the free power facility, though in a modified form, the government is keen to consolidate its base amongst the “scheduled castes” and “backward classes”. community. The budget announced on Tuesday included a number of sops for these communities, with emphasis on welfare of the girl child. The government proposes, through the Mai Bhago Vidya scheme, to provide free bicycles to all girl students studying in classes 11 and 12 in government schools at a cost of Rs 75 crore. If resources permit, the scheme may be even extended to all girl students studying in classes 9 and 10.

Education of girl students is now to be made free in the real sense of the word. Though they are not charged any fees till class 10, local contributions are taken from them at the school level. This will be stopped and a new scheme - Bebe Nanaki Ladli Beti Kalyan - has been instituted for the girl child whereby the government will invest Rs 15,000 in the child’s name with the Life Corp of India (LIC). Payments will be made to the child at various stages of her life under the scheme.

Besides instituting new schemes, the budget also proposes to extend the scope of the old welfare schemes to ensure a larger number of needy beneficiaries are covered under them, taking particular care to included the “backward castes”. The facility of free uniforms, which was available to “scheduled castes” and below poverty line elementary students, has been extended to “backward classes” as well as economically weaker families. The scheme now has a name - Bhai Jaita - to commemorate the sacrifice of a ‘dalit’ hero. Similarly an attendance scholarship at the primary level will be extended to all “backward” students as well as students from economically weaker sections.

In another major decision with an eye to the polls, the government, which has been unable to manage the ‘Shagun’ scheme involving grant of Rs 15,000 to ‘dalit’ and Christian girls upon marriage, is now set to extend this scheme to all girls from economically weaker sections.

The number of old age pensioners is also likely to increase with the qualifying age for grant of old age pension being reduced from 60 years to 58 years. Similarly, a state filled with ‘bhawans’ catering to nearly all sections of society will get some more of them with the budget proposing to construct a ‘Ravidas bhawan, 'Balmiki Bhawan’ and ‘Masih
Bhawan’.

Women On Her Mind

* Mai Bhago Vidya Scheme: Free cycles to all girls studying in Classes 11, 12 of government schools. Rs 26 crore earmarked to ensure no fee would be charged for girl students up till Class 12

*
Mata Kaushalaya Kalyan: Cash incentive of Rs 1,000 to mothers who delivered at government hospitals

*
No fee for girl students up till Class 12

Backward & EWS Families

* Rs 130 crore set aside to extend Shagun scheme of Rs 15,000,

free healthcare extended to 14 lakh families

Eligibility: Annual income below Rs 30,000

*
Qualifying age for women pensioners lowered to 58 years

The government, which has been unable to manage the ‘Shagun’ scheme involving grant of `15,000 to ‘dalit’ and Christian girls upon marriage, is now set to extend this scheme to all girls from economically weaker sections.

Chandigarh, March 14
Private entrepreneurship has always been the driving force behind Punjab’s economic growth. This factor appears to have somehow been so deeply engrained in the minds of the state’s policy makers, that this sector is almost dismissed in the budget proposals of successive governments.

Though Punjab Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur has laid a lot of emphasis on education, health and infrastructure development in her budget proposals for fiscal 2011-12, the industry has been completely ignored. Of the total plan outlay of Rs 11,500 crore, the industry has received only Rs 10 crore for development of industrial focal points. Interestingly, a sum of Rs 16 crore has been allocated for upgrading NIIFT, a fashion design institute run by the state industries department in Mohali.

It may be mentioned here that the contribution of industry to the gross state domestic product (GSDP) is over 25 per cent and has recorded a growth of 11.99 per cent. However, when it came to dealing with industrial development the budget proposals only mention about the new industrial policy of 2009; the mega projects policy for attracting fresh investment; enactment of the Punjab Special Economic Zones Act; and, its efforts to set up two integrated mixed use parks at Rajpura and Kaputhala.

Interestingly, the finance minister mentioned about the flight of industry from Punjab to the neighbouring tax exempt hill states. She also said the central government should not extend these tax holidays to the neighbouring states beyond April 1 this year as it directly affected industrial development in the state. RS Sachdeva, co- chairman of the Punjab committee of the PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, rued while the state government was collecting hundreds of crores of rupees from industry as taxes, a meagre sum of Rs 10 crore was allocated to it.

Seconding his opinion, PD Sharma, chairman of the Apex Chamber of Commerce & Industry, called this meagre allotment of Rs 10 crore a joke.

Chandigarh, March 14
The SAD-BJP government is fond of terming Punjab as a state where agriculture is king. But this was not reflected in the state Budget presented today, as it failed to address the key issues of marketing, storage and the processing of agriculture produce besides that of crop diversification and cold chains. It, however, did allocate money to encourage small farmers to go in for dairy and aqua culture.

State Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur today claimed in her Budget speech that no special provision had been made to bring in the second Green Revolution in the state in the Union Budget. Apparently she too failed to address the issue, only setting aside Rs 453 crore for agriculture.

Into its fifth and the final year in the office, the government says it will encourage and facilitate crop diversification, vegetable clusters near urban areas, new storage capacity and cold chains, the areas that it should have tackled by now.

In fact, the state seems to be completely dependent on Central schemes for agriculture propagation. The low cost net house, wheat seed replacement and milk quality improvement besides others is being done under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna. Similarly, the National Horticulture Mission is promoting green house technology, the development of high-tech nurseries, cold chain and refrigerated storage. Another Central scheme to insulate the farming community against various risks is being implemented in three districts.

The state has, however, earmarked Rs 25 crore for Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, which will be spent on agriculture research and development. An allocation of Rs 70 crore has also been made for the development of allied sectors like animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries and cooperation.

Ludhiana: Agriculture and allied sectors got Rs 453 crore in today’s Budget, which agricultural economists feel is less and will not help in solving the problem of sustainability of agriculture. Dr MS Toor, senior Professor of (Agriculture) Economics, Punjab Agricultural University, said in the present scenarios of global warming, water depletion and increasing population, there was a need to bring in structural changes in agriculture. The allocated amount would be sufficient just for maintenance purpose and the revamping of agriculture could not be done with this limited amount, he said.

Commerce

Ludhiana: The Punjab Commerce and Management Association has described it as a mixed Budget with less focus on higher and technical education. The executive vice-president of the association, Dr Ashwani Bhalla, feels that the Finance Minister could have done more for the infrastructure development of higher and technical education by allocating more funds to revamp state-run colleges and universities.

Power

PATIALA: Terming the Budget as bad for the power sector, engineers and employees of the two power utilities - Punjab State Power Corp Limited and Punjab State Transmission Corp Limited - have stated that the Punjab Government has “ignored” the power sector. Reacting to the Budget, president of the PSEB Engineers Association HS Bedi said it mentioned nothing about the financial restructuring of the two power utilities.

Sports Industry

JALANDHAR: President of the Khel Udyog Sangh Vijay Dheer has criticised the government for not reducing VAT on sports goods. He said the government’s decision to continue with the present VAT rate would prove detrimental for the sports industry. Contrary to zero per cent VAT charged in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, sports goods manufacturers of the state are paying VAT to the tune of 5.5 per cent (including 10 per cent surcharge) for the past few years.

Leather industry

JALANDHAR: The Budget’s silence to address the long-pending demand of VAT reduction on the processed leather has added to the woes of the leather industry in the state. It has been demanding that VAT on both finished and chrome tanned wet and blue leather should be reduced from the existing 5.5 per cent to zero per cent.

President of the Punjab Leather Federation JS Paul said: “There is a full tax rebate for exporters and only 2 per cent Central excise is being charged form those who are selling the processed leather in other states. Contrary to this, the government has imposed 5.5 per cent VAT on the intra-state sale of the processed leather.”

The Punjab Chief Minister and leader of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Parkash Singh Badal, has described the Punjab Budget as a document that exhibits a new hope and vision for the state. Reacting to the Budget soon after Finance Minister Dr Upinderjit Kaur concluded her speech, the Chief Minister told The Tribune, “We have achieved something that appeared impossible a few years ago”.

Expressing joy at terming the Budget as a document of great personal satisfaction, he said, “The media is always sceptical, but look at how the revenue has dramatically increased and drastically reduced the debt ratio to GSDP. The sound financial health has significantly stepped up capital investment and enlarged the scope of social welfare policies in the state”.

Dismissing the criticism by the Congress, which has called the Budget a “no budget”, the Chief Minister said if the Congress was a little more persuasive with its high command.

‘Budget is based on a focused plan’

The Punjab Budget presented today is based purely on a focused plan that has been determined by carefully evaluating the nitty-gritty of what is in the best interest of the people and that of the state. Refusing to comment on how the budget was similar or different from the earlier four budgets of the SAD-BJP government, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said, “the facts speak for themselves, my government is bullish on revival of the economy”

‘Just a dream’

PPCC President Amarinder Singh on Monday claimed that the SAD-BJP government’s Budget was just a dream as it would be unable to come up with the revenue to implement its schemes. He also alleged that schemes worth Rs 3,600 crore could not be implemented in Punjab because the state had failed to come up with 25 per cent matching grant. Talking to TNS, the former CM said the government had failed to implement 16 schemes because of its inability to come up with the matching grants. He said all other schemes being announced by it with much fanfare were Central schemes and that the Budget as such was a “non-Budget”.

‘It is hollow’

Dubbing the state Budget, presented by the Finance Minister, Upinder Jit Kaur, as hollow and directionless, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, chief whip of the Congress legislative party in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, alleged that the SAD-BJP government of Punjab had failed to protect the interests of all sections of society.

‘Farmers discontent’

Rattan Singh Randhawa, senior Vice-President, Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, said there is gross discontentment among the farming community. Due to lack of vision, there are no concrete policy matters to overcome the bitter ground realities that farmers have to face. There is no provision for adequate water for irrigation in the state.

‘Will give a boost to development’

Local Government and Industries Minister Manoranjan Kalia on Monday described the Budget as progressive, growth oriented and pro-people. He said it would give a boost to development in the state.

HIGHLIGHTS

Infrastructure

* Rs 986 crore including Rs 626 crore as State Plan Budget is proposed to be spent on road infrastructure and Transport.

*
Rs 3,300 crore for the Power Sector which is about 30% of the total plan outlay for 2011-12.

*
59.68% increase for Irrigation and Flood Control at Rs 1,030 crore

Agriculture

* 37% increase to agriculture and allied sectors at Rs 453 crore

*
Rs 25 crore to Punjab Agriculture University.

Rural Development

* Rs. 220 crore for construction of rural toilets.

*
Rs. 200 crore for cleaning of village ponds.

* Rs 200 crore for construction/brick paving drains in villages

Education

* Outlay increased 52% at Rs 1,441

*
Rs.60 crore for providing furniture in all Government primary schools.

* “Mai Bhago Vidya Scheme” with an outlay of Rs 75 crore, to provide free bicycles to all girl students studying in classes 11th and12th in all Government schools.

*
Free uniforms to the children of Backward Classes/Castes (BCs) and economically weaker families, with annual income up to Rs 30,000. Scheme to be named after Bhai Jaita ji (Shaheed Baba Jiwan Singh ji)

Higher Education

* 264% increase at Rs 229 crore for Higher Education and Languages .

*
Rs 30 lakh to the Languages Department of the State for setting up its own printing unit.

*
17 new post graduate degree colleges are being set up in the educationally backward districts

*
Rs. 70 crore to government degree colleges

Sports & Youth Services

* Rs 142 crore, shall be earmarked for Sports and Youth Services

*
7 multipurpose stadiums and the Centre of Excellence in Sports at
Jalandhar.

* Distribution of gymnasium equipment throughout the State at Rs 15 crore.

*
Capital grant of Rs. 2 crore to The Anad Foundation, New Delhi for setting up an institute dedicated to study of devotional music at Sultanpur
Lodhi.

* Rs 1 crore to the North Zone Cultural Centre to fulfil its objectives.

Health

* Rs 720 crore is proposed to be spent by the Health Department.

*
In-principle approval of the cashless medical insurance scheme for all members of the Police Department, providing free indoor treatment up to Rs 2 lac per annum

*
Emergency Medical Response Service would be made functional by 31st March, 2011.

*
To encourage institutional deliveries, the government has announced a new Plan scheme, to be called “Mata Kaushalaya Kalyan Scheme”, at Rs. 12 crore to provide Rs 1,000 cash incentive to all mothers who undergo institutional deliveries in Government hospitals.

Industries

* Rs. 10 crore will be spent during 2011-12 for this purpose.

*
Rs 16 crore is being provided during 2011-12 for NIIFT Mohali .

Social Security

* Outlay for Social Security has been increased by 24% to Rs.924
crore.

* Rs. 591 crore has been earmarked for old age and other pensions to 19.70 lac beneficiaries.

*
Lower the qualifying age limit for old-age pension in case of women to 58 years from 60 years at present.

*
A new scheme to be called “Bebe Nanki Ladli Beti Kalyan Scheme” for providing benefit of Rs 15,000 at the birth of a girl child. This amount shall be invested in the name of the child with the Life Insurance

Corporation of India

* Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Backward Classes

*
Rs. 275 crore has been earmarked for welfare of Scheduled Castes/Backward Classes.

Chandigarh, March 14
The opposition Congress today condemned the Punjab Budget even calling it a non-Budget but there are already concerns that Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has stolen a march over his rivals by engineering a populist Budget which hits hard at the core constituency of the Congress --- the Scheduled Caste and Backward Class vote bank.

While Pradesh Congress president Amarinder Singh called it a ‘non-Budget’ and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said the Budget was full of promises only, the Congress is apprehensive that the Deputy CM has effectively combined his development agenda with an overture to the Dalit and backward vote bank.

The Congress has always regarded the Dalit and the backward vote bank as its own. Punjab has the country’s largest population of Scheduled Castes who form around 29 per cent of its population.

Observers say the Deputy CM decided on making development his government’s main poll agenda after Nitish Kumar ensured a reelection for the Janata Dal-BJP combine in Bihar. They said Sukhbir had now followed up development with reaching out to the poorest sections of society. Nitish had done this effectively by distributing bicycles to underprivileged girl students, something that will now be emulated in Punjab.

Congressmen on condition of anonymity claimed that the sops extended to the Dalits and backward classes could not be taken lightly as they would definitely engineer a split in its vote bank. The party, however, has little in its armoury to debunk the sops offered in the Budget except to say they might not materialise, as the government did not have any money.

Meanwhile, Congress legislator Kewal Dhillon said even though the Budget had enlarged the scope of various social welfare schemes, including the shagun scheme, it would not benefit the SAD-BJP combine. People are already livid with the combine for letting ‘jathedars’ manipulate the scheme by giving away money to unmarried girls. He said similarly the old-age pension scheme had also not been properly implemented and that lowering the age limit from 60 years to 58 years during the fag end of its tenure would not help the SAD-BJP coalition electorally.

Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla said the coalition would also have to answer the people why various welfare schemes were implemented selectively in the state and why benefits of this scheme had mainly percolated to SAD supporters. Congress legislator from Nabha Randeep Singh said the government was trying to misguide the people by resorting to lies and that the Congress would lay bare the truth behind the “tax free”

Chandigarh, March 14
The Budget is not merely a pre-election exercise, but it can be viewed as a positive step to enlarge the scope to attract voters. Almost every section of society has been benefited in one way or the other.

To counter the growing feeling that Manpreet Badal is getting a lot of response from the youth and women, there are major announcements for both. Education of girls has been made free till Class XII, they would also be provided with free bicycles, etc. The age of women for getting old age pension has been reduced from 60 to 58.

The SAD-BJP government schemes in the social sector were so far confined to the SC population only, which is about 29 per cent of the state’s population. By extending social welfare schemes to all the Backward Classes and economically weaker sections of society, the SAD-BJP government hopes to benefit about 55 per cent of the state’s population.

Similarly, to set the past record straight, the government has announced that in future all Shagun under the Shagun Scheme will be given on the day of the girl’s marriage. The arrears can wait, but from April 1 all payments (Rs 15,000) to the girls would be made on the day of the wedding.

Again for most other social sector schemes, the scope of the scheme has been enhanced from BPL families (which are just about 4 lakh in Punjab) to all those with incomes up to Rs 30,000 per annum. This will extend benefits like free health care, etc to about 20 lakh families in the state, giving the SAD-BJP tremendous advantage over the Congress.

Another very clear indication that emerges out of the Budget presented today is that the SAD-BJP is going to adopt a very aggressive posture from now onwards to curb the anti-incumbency factor. The main target of the ruling alliance will be the central government and the Congress that will be projected as anti-Punjab, as it has failed to help Punjab financially, highlighting the fact that Punjab has managed to come out of the fiscal mess on its own.

The Budget has also taken care of the BJP vote bank by providing adequate funds for infrastructure development that mainly pertains to improving the cities with corporations and municipalities. Many other target groups have benefited from the Budget; these include the freedom fighters, whose pensions have been raised to Rs 5000. Even retired teachers of government-aided schools have been promised pension.

Chandigarh, March 14
Though no new welfare schemes have been announced, a three-fold increase in the planned expenditure by the Department of Defence Services Welfare has been proposed in the state Budget for 2011-12, while the department’s non-planned Budget is earmarked to rise by about 11 per cent.

The non-planned Budget, which relates to establishment-oriented expenditure and recurring expenses, has been pegged at Rs 23.5 crore for the coming fiscal as compared to Rs 21.1 crore for 2010-11.

Similarly, the planned expenditure, which relates to various welfare schemes and other projects introduced or approved by the state government from time to time, is set to rise to Rs 13 crore from Rs 4.1 crore.

The combined expenditure for this department for 2011-12 is pegged at Rs 36.5 crore vis-à-vis Rs 25.2 crore for 2010-11, representing an overall increase of over Rs 11 crore or close to 45 per cent. Punjab has 2.87 lakh ex-servicemen and 53,000 widows.

For the next fiscal, Rs 2 crore has been proposed to meet the expenditure relating to grant of Rs 5 lakh to next of kin of battle casualties in lieu of a plot. Last year the Budget on this account was Rs 4 crore. Departmental sources said that as of now there were no pending cases in the state on this account and payments would be made as and when fresh cases came in. However, the cases for grant of land to 28 war widows of the 1971 Indo-Pak war have still not been resolved.

The planned segment proposed today also includes Rs 6 crore for the construction of Sainik Rest House and Maharaja Ranjit Singh War Museum at Ludhiana. Coaching classes for entry into service academies, training of wards of ex-servicemen, grant to Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre and ex-gratia to families of martyrs are among schemes falling in this segment.

The increase in the Budget also caters to 40 per cent hike in the allowances of gallantry award winners introduced in December 2010 and grant of Rs 1 lakh announced last year to every candidate who enters a service academy for training as an officer.

Ferozepur, March 14
The Punjab Budget presented by state Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha today evoked a mixed response from the people belonging to different walks of life.

Ravi Kant Gupta, president of the Rice Mill Machinery Manufacturers of India and the Chairman of the Ferozepur Industrial Chamber of Commerce, Ferozepur, said the Punjab Government had “blatantly ignored” Ferozepur district in giving concessions to industrial projects already running in the area.

He said while various concessions worth hundreds of crores of rupees had been extended to 69 mega projects of Punjab, no favour had been shown to small-scale industries.

Amritsar, March 14
Sikhs across the globe led by the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, today celebrated Sikh Environment Day to mark the Gurta Gaddi Diwas of the seventh Sikh guru, Guru Har Rai.

The Jathedar launched a green drive to mark the occasion at the Golden Temple Complex in the morning. He distributed saplings to the devotees who thronged the shrine on the Sikh New Year (March 14) in large numbers. Interacting with the media, the Jathedar said, “The advent of science and technology coupled with fast-paced development has taken a heavy toll on our natural resources. In such a scenario, it is imperative to preserve the environment and augment the green cover.

Also the Gurbani says — Pawan guru paani pita mata dharat mahat, which makes it the prime duty of a human being to keep air, water and environment clean.”

The SGPC too distributed saplings to the pilgrims at the Golden Temple’s main entrance and outside its inns.

Dubai court gives death to Indian
Eleven of his accomplices get life termPrabhjot Singh/TNS

Chandigarh/Dubai, March 14
After three adjournments, a Dubai court today sentenced 12 Indians in a double murder case, giving death sentence to one and life term to the remaining 11. The only Pakistani convicted in the case also gets life term.

Two unidentified Indian workers from Kerala were murdered on the night of December 31, 2009, in a case of bootlegging, leading to a clash between two groups of South Asian workers.

Though the court had closed the case on December 6 last year, the sentence to the convicts could not be pronounced either on January 3 or February 7.

Major Singh of Gurdaspur has been given death sentence.

He is already undergoing life term in another murder case. Intriguingly, eight of the Indian boys convicted today are like Major Singh, serving 15 years’ imprisonment in the earlier case in which an Indian worker, also from Kerala, was murdered on January 10, 2009. The sentence in the earlier case was pronounced on January 4 this year.

The court did not specify whether the sentences awarded to these Indian boys on January 4 and today would run concurrently or they would have to serve them separately.

In the first case, in which Major Singh got life imprisonment and the remaining nine Indian boys were awarded 15 years each in prison, the victim was also a youth from Kerala, says Dubai-based Indian hotelier SP Singh Oberoi, who has been pursuing both the cases.

“No decision has been taken about filing an appeal against the January 4 and today’s sentences. We will hold discussions with the families of the Indian boys before deciding the future line of action,” he adds.

Other than nine convicts common in both the cases, other Indian workers to get life term are Surjit Singh (Raikot), Balwinder Singh (Tanda) and Surinder Singh (Samrala).

The lone Pakistani sentenced to life imprisonment today is Mohammed Rafat. In the first case, also convicted was a Pakistani boy, Fara Ahmed, who got away with 10-year imprisonment.

It is for the first time that any Dubai court has sentenced so many persons to undergo life imprisonment besides ordering the death sentence for the prime suspect.

In the adjoining Sharjah state, an appeal filed against the death sentence awarded to 17 Indians in a bootlegging-cum-murder case is in the final stages of adjudication.